Drop in the bucket.
We eat food that is locally grown or not from widely different parts of the globe. Have a little curry with your rice? Rice? Some spinach in your lettuce salad? A hamburger? What about a fresh glass of OJ with your papaya? Of course I could go on and on. I understand bioregionalism, but in this time we've so lost whatever semblance of bioregional integrity that might have once existed that the growing of some medicinal herbs from the amazon in a different bioregion is a tiny, almost infinitesimal thing. Plus, maybe (and this is what I believe) the plants will benefit from and indeed want to be spread out across the world, both as a survival technique and as a way to spread their healing.

its true... that it has become boarderline invasive in the islands... but thats also int he islands... people have to cut it down frequently to keep it in check... which is a good ting honestly because that means they have medicine in mass... not a bad thing to have to much medicine... it does mean though that people have to establish a relationship with that medicine...

I agree that every place has its own unique medicines... not all of them plants, and that is something to keep in consideration... not all shamans and healers work with entheogens...
but each of these places and medicines are unique and heal specific things mushrooms can not do what peyote or sanpedro does... trust me on this one.. it can do some of the things that they do... but not all of them... their differences are really really important...
the native american church has embraced peyote all the way up to northern canada amoung many tribes that have never had it... growing in their native bioregions... but its been a medicine that people need, its a medicine that unless we were in need of it we could not really understand why people need it... its been an important medicine to so many people... So many people have need of diabetic medicines and cancer medicines many of which do not come from their bioregions... and in the days of old when people where perfectly adapted to their bioregions the illnesess that people had often times been also perfectly adapted to their bioregions... as well a the medicines of thier bioregions...
we have new diseases and problems because of global expansion and now we need medicines to help with that....
but in a catch twenty two sort of way jav not needing medicines from another bioregion personally is a really really good thing... but some one needing it esle where where its not from is perfectly understandable... people need all kinds of medicines from thew amazon, it is the largest pharmacological store house and manufacturer of medicines in the world... with out quinene where would infants in africa and india all over the world be for that matter....

there are many things we do not need to out source but I think medicine is not one of them...
if my partner was dieing i would not hesitate to work with a non local medicine...

but here is the dig... ayahausca is also a psychopharmacological dynamic... it is not just a few plants that cultivate its effects... its a whole host of plants and chemicals that can cultivate very much the same healing and personal growth and discovery that the original ayahausca has inspired us to discover else where...

people fail to see this however... ayahuasca analogs have been greatly ignored by many ayahuasca enthusists and not because they dont work but because ayahuasca can be ordered and delivered with so much ease ( as well as so much ecological and social damage) the real shame is that there are analog plants that can be cultivated and wild crafted all over the place that can produce the ayahausca "effect" there is allready a relative of Banisteriopsis that grows in mexico and central america that has both DMT and beta carbolines in it that people suspect the mayans may have worked with... passion flowers can be cooked down with BASIC BASIC kitchen chemistry to produce much the same effects as the vine...

one must ask ones self if it is negligent and ecologically and socially irresponsible to work with medicines that can substitute other medicines that are locally available... mimosa hostilus grows all over mexico and has been added to ayahuasca vine and to vine analogs such as rue and passion flower to produce the ayahuasca effect instead of adding chacruna or chalipoonga... many tribes traditional add many different plants to the vine... so this is just a continuation of this same practice...

people have choosen t o go local when local alternatives are available as a social and ecological practice in ethics...
if one was to create a retreat center that did this based on local ayahausca analogs... now that would be revolutionary inspirational and responsible... but if no such alternatives where available... starting a retreat center closer to people in need would also be socialy and ecologically responsible until alternatives became available.